Cover



March 1, 1938. v KUESRATH 2,110,022

- COVER Filed July 15, 1955' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR.

V/cToR W. KuEsRnTH March 1, 1938. v w KLlESRATH 2,110,022

COVER Filed July 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fkzvwaa 11.11. I

4 I Fig'E INVENTOR.

FIE. E] VICTOR W KLIESRFITH ATTORNEY.

named Mar. 1, 193a PATENT OFFICE COVER Victor W. Kliesrath, South Bend, Ind.,

assignor to International Engineering Corporation, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application July 15, 1935, Serial No. 31,540 3 Claims. (01. 5-334) This invention relates to covers and more particularly to bed covers in which a heat transfer medium is circulated. Y

It is desirable to be able to control the tem- S perature of a person in bed in order to provide comfortable conditions for sleeping during either extremely hot or extremely cold weather or in the treatment of diseases, for example in hospitals. If the temperature of the whole room is controlled a large volume of air must be conditioned requiring large expensive machinery and leading to high operating costs. It is accordingly one of the objects of the invention to provide a cover by which the temperature of a person in bed may be main- 3 tained at the desired value without requiring con trolling the temperature of a large space.

Another object is to provide a cover which is cooled to cool a person using it.

Another object is to provide a cover which is i connected to a source of cooling medium to circulate cooling medium through the cover.

According to one desirable arrangement, the above and other objects are produced by a cover including a layer of heat insulating material and i a layer of heat conducting material arranged with means therebetween to circulate a heat transfer medium. The heat transfer medium may be a warm fluid or a cooling medium such as a refrigerant supplied by the usual compressor or may be air which is cooled by contact with a cooling coil. In case air is used, it maybe circulated through a closed circuit or it may be discharged from the cover to pass over the body of the person using the cover.

Other objects, advantages and novel features will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Figure l is a perspective view with parts broken away of a cover embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a modifled form of cover;

Figure 3 is a transverse section of the cover of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a further modification;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an arrangement in which air is circulated;

Figure 6 is a transverse section through the cover of Figures 1, 4, and 5; I

Figure 7 is a view illustrating another modification, and

Figure 8 is a transverse section of the cover of Figure '7.

The cover of Figure 1 is shown as being a quilt unit of any desired type and which includes the usual condenser coil and compressing means. Refrigerant under pressure is discharged from the unit 20 through a regulating valve 22 and expands in the conduit l8 absorbing heat therefrom and is returned from the conduit l8 to be recompressed and condensed in the usual manner.

Thus the quilt I 0 will be cooled and will cool a person using it without requiring cooling of the entire room. In use, the quilt is placed with the layer M of heat conducting material adjacent the body of the user to permit the ready transfer of heat from the user's body to the conduit l8 and with the insulating layer l2 on the outside to retard the transfer of heat from the outside to the refrigerant.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a modification of the arrangement of Figure l in which both the evaporating cooling coil and the condensing coil are embedded in the quilt. In this modification a heat insulating layer 24 extends along the top of the quilt over that portion in which the cooling coil 26 is embedded and along the bottom of the quilt under that portion in which the condensing coil 28 is embedded. The bottom of the quilt is covered with a suitable heat conducting layer 30 and the spaces between the convolutions of the cooling coil are filled with suitable filling material 32. The upper surface of the quilt over the condensing coil 28 is covered with a cloth cover 34 to permit the transfer of heat from the coil to the atmosphere of the room.

A suitable motor driven compressor 36 has its inlet connected to the cooling coil 26 and its outlet connected to the condensing coil 28, the two coils being connected by an expansion valve 38. Refrigerant from the cooling coil 26 is compressed in the compressor 36, condensed in the coil 28 and expanded through valve 38 into the coil 26 to absorb heat therefrom.

Figure 4 illustrates a modified arrangement in which a quilt l0 having a cooling coil l8 identical with that of Figures 1 and 6 is employed.

In'this arrangement one end of the coil I8 is open to the atmosphere and the other end is connected through a regulating valve 40 with a tank 42 of compressed gas such as CO2. Compressed gas from the tank 42 passes through the valve 40 and expands in the coil l8 in'quilt II) to absorb heat therefrom and is then discharged I into the atmosphere.

Figure 5 illustrates a further modification employing a quilt l0 having a coil or conduit l8 identical with that of Figures 1, 4, and 6. In this modification the ends of the coil 18 are connected to a box 44 through which air is circulated by a blower 46-. A cooling coil 48 is mounted in the box 44 and is connected to be supplied with refrigerant by a refrigerating unit 50 to cool,

air circulating through the box.

According to this construction cool air only is circulated through the quilt thus reducing the weight of the quilt and eliminating any possibility of refrigerant escaping from the cooling coil I8.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a quilt formed with an upper layer 52 of insulating material and a lower layer 54 of porous heat conducting material with a relatively flat bag-56 of rubber or other flexible material therebetween; The bag 56 is provided with a plurality of openings 58 in its lower surface and with an inlet conduit 60 through which air is forced bya blower 62.

The inlet of the blower 62 is connected to a box 64 having an inlet 66 opening into the atmosphere. A refrigerating unit 68 has an evaporator coil 10 mounted in the box 64 to cool air passing therethrough. I

In use of the arrangement of Figures 7 and 8, air drawn into the inlet 66 is cooled by passing over the coil 10 and is forced through the conduit 60 into the bag 56 and out through the openlugs 58. Thus the cooled air from the bag passes over the user providing both cooling and ventilation.

While several embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent that many changes might be made therein and it is not my intention to be limited to any of the forms shown or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bed cover comprising a layer of heat insulating material, an evaporator coil secured'on one side of said material, a condenser coil secured on the other side of said material beside but not'overlying said evaporator coil, an expansion valve connecting said coils, and a compressor having its inlet connected to said evaporator coil and its outlet connected to said condenser coii.

2. A cover comprising a layer of heat insulating material, an evaporator coil secured to one side of said layer, a layer ofheat transfer material on the other side of said coil from the heat insulating layer,'a condenser coil secured to the other side of said heat insulating layer from the evaporator coil, an expansion valve connecting said coils, a layer of heat transfer material on i the side of said condenser coil opposite the heat insulating layer, and a compressor having its inlet connected to the evaporator coil and its outlet connected to said condenser coil.

3. A cover comprising a flexible layer of heat insulating material, a flexible rubber tube forming an evaporator coil and secured to one side of saidlayer, a layer of heat transfer material on the other side of said coil from the heat insulating layer, a flexible tube forming a condenser coil secured to the other side of said heat insulating layer from the evaporator coil, an expansion valve connecting said coils, a layer of heat transfer material on the other side of said condenser denser coil.

VICTOR W. KLIESRATH. 

